'Photos' of 3 J&K youths brandishing weapons go viral

Three youth from south Kashmir’s volatile Pulwama district, who had gone missing recently, have reportedly joined militant ranks.

Purported pictures of the trio have gone viral on social media in which they could be seen brandishing weapons and announcing their association with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). They have been identified as Nazim Dar, Irshad Dar and Rafiq Dar, all residents of Pulwama.

According to the purported pictures, code name of Nazim is Rehan Bhai, active from June 17, 2019 while code name of Irshad is Abu Usama, active since June 01, 2019 and code name of Rafiq is Abu Qasim, active since June 01, 2019.

Nazim, according to family sources is missing from last four days, Irshad and Rafiq are missing since last one-month, local media reported. According to reports, the families of the trio has filed missing report in the concerned police station.

For the last few years, this has been a signature style of youth announcing that they have joined the militants.

A police officer said they were ascertaining the authenticity of the pictures and investigating it from all angles.